Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that his wife (January Jones) suddenly doesn t recognize him and

Transcription

1 Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that his wife (January Jones) suddenly doesn t recognize him and another man (Aidan Quinn) has assumed his identity. Ignored by disbelieving authorities and hunted by assassins, he finds himself alone, tired, and on the run. On his own in a strange country, Martin seeks aid from an unlikely and reluctant source (Diane Kruger) as he plunges headlong into a deadly mystery that will force him to question his sanity, his identity, and just how far he s willing to go to uncover the truth. Unknown was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra ( Orphan ), from a screenplay by Oliver Butcher & Stephen Cornwell, based on the novel by Didier van Cauwelaert. The contemporary thriller stars Oscar nominee Liam Neeson ( Schindler s List ), Diane Kruger ( Inglorious Basterds ), January Jones (TV s Mad Men ) and Aidan Quinn (TV s The Book of Daniel ), with Bruno Ganz ( The Reader ) and Oscar nominee Frank Langella ( Frost/Nixon ). Unknown was produced by Joel Silver ( Sherlock Holmes ), Leonard Goldberg ( Charlie s Angels franchise) and Andrew Rona (upcoming The Apparition ). Susan Downey, Steve Richards, Sarah Meyer and Peter McAleese served as executive producers. Collet-Serra s behind-the-scenes collaborators included director of photography Flavio Labiano, production designer Richard Bridgland, editor Tim Alverson, and two-time Oscar -nominated costume designer Ruth Myers ( Emma, The Addams Family ). The music is by John Ottman and Alexander Rudd. Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Dark Castle Entertainment, a Panda Production, Unknown. The film is being distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. Unknown has been rated PG-13 by the MPAA for some intense sequences of violence and action, and brief sexual content.

2 For downloadable general press information, please visit: ABOUT THE PRODUCTION MARTIN He s not Martin Harris. I am Martin Harris. That man is pretending to be me. What if you knew, deep down, who you really were, but couldn t prove it? And what if someone else someone you didn t know claimed to be you, and everyone believed him? That is the dilemma at the center of Unknown. Who or what determines who we are? Is it our friends our memories where we come from a piece of paper? Where is the proof? Based on the novel by Didier van Cauwelaert, Unknown explores exactly that as Dr. Martin Harris, played by Liam Neeson, races through the cold streets of Berlin in order to take back his life, while dodging the men who are hot on his trail and trying to kill him. Though he has no idea why. Director Jaume Collet-Serra offers, My favorite films are those Hitchcockian thrillers that have that mysterious atmosphere, where the audience is as much in the dark as the characters, and you don t really know where the story is going to take you. Producer Joel Silver states, I love a nail-biter, a real edge-of-your-seat movie, and that s what I liked most about this story. You don t know if Martin Harris is the good guy, or if he s gone slightly insane and is making this whole crazy thing up. It was producer Leonard Goldberg who brought French author van Cauwelaert s book to Silver. When I read the novel, I thought it would be a perfect vehicle for Joel and I to produce together, because it was such a unique thriller and the ending totally surprised me, Goldberg says. Happily, Joel was as intrigued with the story as I was. 2

3 Leonard was right; it had such an interesting hook to it, I couldn t put it down, Silver confirms. We developed the screenplay with two great writers, Oliver Butcher and Stephen Cornwell. To direct the film, Silver looked to Jaume Collet-Serra, with whom he had collaborated on two prior films. Jaume has a great style and understands how to let a mystery unfold. I was eager to work with him again. I loved the idea of this man waking up one day and discovering that he has been replaced in the world, Collet-Serra says. And there was the added drama of another person being able to prove he was him, while the protagonist could not. It was the first of several great twists in the tale, and even with all these great clues sprinkled throughout the script, I liked that I could not figure it out. The star of Unknown was pulled into the story from the start. For me, it s always the script, and this was a real page-turner, Neeson asserts. My litmus test is this: if I can get to page 50 without stopping for a tea break, then it s a very good sign. This was such good material that I had to read it all in one sitting. Producer Andrew Rona agrees. This was one screenplay I truly couldn t put down. It was such an exhilarating read; I couldn t wait to see how it would translate to the screen. Unknown is a freight train, it just grabs you and goes, Joel Silver says. And you may think you know where it s going, but I don t think you ll see this one coming. MARTIN Liz, I was in an accident. I was in a coma I m so sorry, they didn t know who I was. LIZ Excuse me do I know you? Liam Neeson plays Dr. Martin Harris, a botanist, who arrives with his wife, Liz, at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin for a biotechnology summit. When Martin realizes that his briefcase didn t make it into the taxi with them, he grabs another cab to rush back to the airport. But en route, they are in a terrible accident. The driver, Gina, bravely saves Martin s life but then mysteriously disappears. After lying in a coma 3

4 for four days, he awakens; with no identification, Martin struggles to remember who he is. Once he remembers his identity, he urgently tries to locate his wife, assuming she must be frantic with worry, Neeson relates. But when he finds Liz back at the hotel, she doesn t know him, and worse, another man is claiming to be him and Liz believes this other Martin. It s like reverse amnesia, Collet-Serra reveals. It s as if the world has amnesia about him he absolutely knows who he is, but everyone else has forgotten him. The filmmakers all agreed that Neeson was the perfect actor for the role because he has such tremendous screen presence. I ve always admired Liam s work, Collet-Serra says, and for a director, he is a generous actor that keeps on giving, on set and on screen. He can be very intense and very subtle at the same time. Both would be required; it was essential that the character draw the audience into his psyche, so they would be trying to decipher why all this is happening, right along with him. The director continues, One of my concerns was that the viewer has so little time to get to know Martin before everything goes awry. But with Liam, there s an instant connection. You like him, you believe in him. We wanted somebody people would root for, Silver adds. Liam has great charisma, and is also totally accessible, and those are exactly the traits we needed for Martin Harris. To the audience, Martin Harris seems to have the perfect marriage and an interesting life, Neeson explains, but it s all suddenly shattered in an instant. He is alone and not just abandoned, but rejected by everyone he thinks he knows. And his every impulse makes him more determined to find out the truth and, more importantly, prove he is who he says he is. Neeson was attracted to the idea of exploring lost identity. I totally locked in to what Martin was going through, he says. I was an amateur boxer as a kid, and I got my bell rung a few times. It s always stayed with me, that memory of not having a memory, even for a short time. It was an interesting life experience to draw on for this role. 4

5 Nearly everywhere he looks for help, Martin is turned away, the first being the most devastating when he goes to see his wife. Expecting her to be relieved to see him and to run to him with open arms, he is stunned when she greets him with nothing more than the guileless stare of a complete stranger. Playing the part of Elizabeth Harris is January Jones who, like Neeson, was drawn to the unique qualities of the story. This was something I hadn t read before; it was so interesting and intricate, the actress offers. It reminded me of those old spy movies, with a sense of danger and intrigue, but also a hint of glamour to it. Jones also enjoyed the enigmatic way her character was written. Nothing was set in stone with Liz; she was very smart, but also inscrutable, and I loved how unpredictable she was. You know that Martin loves her, but her side of the story isn t quite clear, so there was a lot to play around with, she says. January is an intelligent actress and her work is very layered, Collet-Serra says. She s also beautiful in a way that is reminiscent of the femme fatales of the `50s, so she really had all the qualities we wanted to play this indefinable figure. Liz Harris is the icy, sexy blond who is right in the heat of things, Silver comments. January was wonderful at giving you just enough to let you know there s more to her story, without giving anything away. When even his own wife doesn t recognize him, Martin must find the only other person in Berlin who saw him before the accident the taxi driver, Gina. After the crash, she saved him from certain death at the bottom of the river, but then inexplicably vanished. Diane Kruger stars as Gina, who, the actress reveals, has good reason to avoid the authorities. Gina is from Bosnia, and is living in Germany illegally. She doesn t want to be questioned by the police at the scene, because she s afraid they ll find out that she has no papers. So she flees as soon as she sees Martin is being attended to. When Martin tracks her down hoping for answers, she wants nothing to do with him. She doesn t want any part of him or his crazy story, Kruger affirms. Gina is scared of where she comes from, things she s experienced in her life and what helping him might mean to the small amount of security she s managed to build for herself. 5

6 As much as Martin tries to expose his truth to the world, Gina strives to hide her very existence and live in complete anonymity. The two are united by circumstances but have diametrically opposed motives. Even though she wants to hide, she sees his desperation and she knows what it feels like to think the rest of the world is against you, Kruger continues. Gina also needs money in order to get her papers and start a new life, and Martin promises her that. Gina is running away from her past, looking for a new identity, which, in a way, is something she has in common with Martin. They are both working hard just to survive, Collet-Serra observes. Part of that survival involved some challenging action sequences. To play her, Diane had to do a lot of physical work as well. She had to keep up with Liam through all the action, the fighting, the car chases. She did an incredible job. She was a real team player. Goldberg says, We were lucky enough to have Diane Kruger and January Jones opposite Liam Neeson. They are both talented and beautiful actresses who bring distinctive and contrasting qualities to their roles. The man who appears to have hijacked Martin s life and usurped his wife, his friends and even his work, is the character who, for simplicity s sake, is referred to here as Martin B, played by Aidan Quinn. Martin B is the other side of the coin, Collet-Serra notes, and the way Aidan played him was brilliant. He really put himself in the situation of what would happen if another guy suddenly claimed to be you. He s essentially faced with the same problem as Martin, with one exception: Martin B has proof that he s the real Dr. Martin Harris. So all he has to do is sit back and let the other guy act crazy. Quinn loved playing the doppelganger for Neeson, who is also a close friend. I found it to be a really compelling story with a very interesting premise and a lot of twists and turns. The fact that Liam was in it was icing on the cake; it was a lot of fun to be pitched against each other, he smiles. Neeson adds, At one point we have an extended physical fight. We had to do a lot of training and rehearsing, which can be tough, but doing it with a mate means that you can be much more relaxed and just have fun with it. 6

7 Desperate to prove Martin B is the imposter, Martin seeks help from Ernst Jürgen, a former member of the Stasi the East German secret police. Jürgen is something of a relic in that the world has moved forward, but he has remained in the past, defined by what he did in what seems like a lifetime ago. Acclaimed Swiss actor Bruno Ganz portrayed the character he describes as a man whose life doesn t make sense anymore, because he was a true believer in something that no longer exists, so he does not exist anymore. He protected his country, ministry, state, so he has lost what made life worth living. Nevertheless, he is incredibly smart and willing to help someone else who feels lost. Bruno brought a sort of quiet dignity to the role that was unexpected, Silver comments. It was really a pleasure to watch. Another esteemed veteran actor joining the cast is Frank Langella in the role of Martin s good friend from the States, Rodney Cole. Director Collet-Serra was thrilled to work with both Langella and Ganz. They have one of my favorite scenes in the movie, he declares. They had just met that morning, and I spent probably only an hour with them before the crew arrived, blocking the scene. They both delivered subtly powerful performances. I had such a smile on my face. I could not believe that I was directing Bruno Ganz and Frank Langella. I look for roles where I can make some sort of impression, and this was one of those, Langella says. Bruno and I were talking about it on the day we shot our scene together, that every now and then you come across these parts that may be brief, but have very telling moments, and they re worth taking. I really feel that this movie is what an international thriller should be like, the sort of movies I grew up with. You get your soda, you get your popcorn, and you go along for the ride. Rounding out the international cast are acclaimed German actor Sebastian Koch as research scientist Professor Bressler, and Olivier Schneider and Stipe Erceg as Smith and Jones, relentless killers hunting Martin Harris through the streets of Berlin. Schneider wore two hats on the film, also serving as the fight and stunt coordinator, working with Collet-Serra and the cast to choreograph the film s suspenseful action sequences. 7

8 GINA Why did you have to get into my cab? MARTIN I wish I hadn t, believe me. The film s action is set entirely in the German capital of Berlin, which is also where the movie was shot. Collet-Serra says the city suited the story s theme perfectly. At the heart of the film is a crisis of identity, and Berlin has that, having been divided for so many years. Now, even with the reunification and new buildings rising amongst the old, you can still see the scars. Different worlds co-exist within the city, so to me, Berlin was an extension of the main character. One of the best things about filming in Berlin was that, according to Silver, They ve really invested in and taken the time to build an infrastructure. Great crews, great facilities. It s become one of my favorite cities to shoot in. Collet-Serra described Martin Harris s quest to production designer Richard Bridgland as a journey through a labyrinth, where he frequently comes up against a dead end, has to retrace his steps and try another route to discover who he is. Bridgland tried to use the locations to illustrate both sides of Martin s dilemma the world that he thinks he belongs to, and the world in which he finds himself when stripped of his identity. This dichotomy plays out naturally because, after the Berlin Wall was knocked down and the Communist bloc began to crumble over 20 years ago, Berlin has been the subject of massive growth as the two halves of the city reunite. The production utilized the old East and West Berlin, including a variety of neighborhoods, from the edgy streets of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough to iconic sites like the Brandenburg Gate and Museum Island. Our central character doesn t have a home, so we follow him around the city in taxis, on foot and on the U- Bahn, the director details. We shot in 40 locations in 48 days. When Martin and Liz Harris first arrive in the city, they go straight to their hotel, the world famous, five-star Hotel Adlon. Situated near the iconic Brandenburg Gate on the Unter den Linden Avenue, the hotel survived bombing during the war, only to be burned down in an accidental fire 10 years later. It has since been restored to its former luxurious state. 8

9 Shooting in a working hotel, with more than 100 crew members, tons of equipment and numerous extras, was a challenge to the production, which had to be careful to create minimal disturbance to the hotel s other guests. Says Bridgland, Scenes had to be choreographed around the normal life of the hotel, and we built our own reception desk so that real guests weren t inconvenienced. But they did allow us to shoot in the spacious lobby, their dining room, corridors and in the kitchen, below stairs. The access was remarkable, especially for such a busy hotel. However one sequence involved stunts and pyrotechnics that would be impractical for the location. Instead, the production design team built a replica of the hotel s ballroom on a stage at Studio Babelsberg, the world s oldest major film studio, established nearly 100 years ago. They did film the aftermath of an explosion outside at the real location, and the art department created craters of debris and destruction around the Adlon exterior. The filmmakers were amused to learn that, thanks to the city s thriving avant-garde art scene, many passersby stopped to ask if it was some sort of art installation, and who the artist was. In trying to locate Gina, Martin remembers the logo of her taxi, the Television Tower, a landmark of East Berlin built to literally tower over the city. For the taxi garage, the production used a 19 th -century brewery. The taxi office was constructed from one of Bridgland s favorite city sights, a metal cabin like those used throughout the city by building workers, providing shelter in which to brew their tea. Another set Bridgland delighted in creating was Gina s apartment. She lives in Kreuzberg, where Berlin s first migrant Turkish workers settled, he says. Her apartment building is home to many transient workers, legal and illegal, and we imagined that she had taken over the attic, trying to make a home in this cold, dreary environment. She has some fabric on the very thin walls, and some personal things photographs and so forth to remind her of her life before. She s essentially making a nest in an alien environment. A very different home that Martin visits is that of Herr Jürgen, once a member of the Stasi, the secret police who encouraged friends and neighbors to spy on each other. Bridgland wanted to illustrate Jürgen s previous life in his surroundings. Jürgen clearly relished his work and the privileged life it afforded him, and we reflected this by decorating his apartment just as it would have been before the Wall came down. His medals and citations are on display, and his furniture is a much 9

10 better quality than regular East German citizens would have had access to. It s almost a museum to life in the lower ranks of the 20 th -century Stasi, a life that he enjoyed and now misses. The exterior of Jürgen s apartment was filmed in Freidrichshain, on Karl-Marx Strasse, outside one of the earliest buildings erected by the Soviet regime to house the personnel they sent from Moscow to oversee the East Berliners. Ironically, these light, spacious apartments are now highly sought after by residents. The scene when Martin and Gina meet with Jürgen is something of a throwback to his Stasi days a clandestine encounter on a bridge to Museum Island, over the River Spree. The water is just beginning to thaw, and huge blocks of ice float past in the background, the cold weather acting as a deterrent to the many tourists who would normally flock to the area. In fact, shooting during the city s coldest winter in the last 20 years mainly in exterior locations caused some hardship for the cast and crew and concerns for continuity of light and weather within scenes, but also contributed to the main character s sense of isolation. Collaborating with Collet-Serra, director of photography Flavio Labiano says he shot the film with an eye for Martin s isolated perspective as a man searching for the truth. We were both blessed and cursed by very heavy snowfall in December, which lasted right through till mid-february, Collet-Serra recalls, allowing us to show the city on a scale we might not otherwise have been able to do, in terms of snow cover. Of course, then it disappeared, which gave us another challenge. We had to keep going, so we had to make our own snow. One of the major events in the film was shot entirely outside, all through the streets of Berlin: an extensive car chase, in which Martin and Gina are trying to escape from the killers who are after them. The sequence took 10 nights to complete and, after such a lengthy exterior shoot in the cold, the cast and crew couldn t wait to get back inside. By contrast, the nightclub scene took place in one of Berlin s most popular hot spots. In order to shake the assassins tailing them, Gina takes Martin to a club, hoping they ll be safe among the crowd. The sequence was shot in The Tresor, known internationally to ardent followers of the club scene as the birthplace of techno music. It is located in a huge, abandoned power station on Köpenicker 10

11 Strasse, Mitte. The art department flooded the industrial basement area with a harsh neon light show that, along with the crashing, repetitive music, helped emphasize Martin s alienation from the world in which he finds himself. Another interesting location the production was able to utilize was the splendid, stark exterior of the New National Gallery, built in the 1960s by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. For the interior shots in the scene, however, they switched to the Museum of Photography in the Charlottenburg district where, for the purposes of the film, Bridgland staged an original exhibition. Unknown is about identity and loss of identity, so we tried to reflect this in the photography, he says. We found a student who had done some extreme portraits, and I art-directed her work. The result was large format, close up portraits of very interesting faces, each seeming to tell its own story. Martin s story is also one of different faces, and somewhere in between is the truth. It really is unpredictable, Liam Neeson offers. It has a few thrills and chills that I truly believe will take the audience by surprise. Leonard Goldberg points out, The reason films of this genre have been around for so long is because the good ones allow moviegoers to play a game of cat and mouse with the filmmakers. This film really gives you the best of both worlds, Joel Silver says. It s a ride that keeps you on the edge of your seat and keeps you guessing. Jaume Collet-Serra concludes, From the moment Martin Harris wakes up and is told he is no longer the man he knows he is, we want to know what is happening. None of us can imagine what it would be like to have someone steal not only our identity, but everything that makes us who we are, even our family and friends. What would we do? How would we take back our life? # # # 11

12 ABOUT THE CAST LIAM NEESON (Dr. Martin Harris) is an award-winning actor, who has been internationally recognized for his work in both major studio blockbusters and acclaimed independent features. He has been honored for his depictions of three very different real-life figures. Neeson received Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations for his performance as Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg s 1993 Oscar -winning Best Picture Schindler s List. Three years later, he played the title role in Neil Jordan s biopic Michael Collins, earning another Golden Globe nomination and winning an Evening Standard British Film Award and the 1996 Venice Film Festival s Volpi Cup for his impassioned portrayal of the Irish Republican hero. In 2004, Neeson starred as controversial sex researcher Alfred Kinsey in Bill Condon s Kinsey, for which he garnered his third Golden Globe nomination and an Independent Spirit Award nomination, and won a Los Angeles Film Critics Award. His most recent film work includes Paul Haggis romantic thriller The Next Three Days ; the actioner The A-Team ; the mythological epic Clash of the Titans ; and the thriller Taken. He also starred in the indie films Chloe, directed by Atom Egoyan, and After.Life. He also has a number of upcoming projects, including Joe Carnahan s action thriller The Grey and Peter Berg s sci-fi action adventure Battleship. Neeson is also well known to film fans for his work in two blockbuster film franchises: playing the role of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace, and the enigmatic Henri Ducard in Christopher Nolan s Batman Begins. In addition, Neeson lends his distinctive voice to the character of Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia films: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Born in Ireland, Neeson began acting in 1976 with the Lyric Players Theatre in Belfast, and made his professional debut in Joseph Plunkett s The Risen People. After two years, he joined the famed repertory company of Dublin s Abbey Theatre, appearing in their production of Brian Friel s Translations. He later won a Best 12

13 Actor award for his performance in Sean O Casey s The Plough and the Stars at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, England. In 1980, director John Boorman spotted Neeson as Lennie in John Steinbeck s Of Mice and Men, and cast him in the Arthurian epic feature Excalibur. During that decade, Neeson played a wide range of characters in such films as Roger Donaldson s The Bounty ; Roland Joffe s The Mission ; Lamb, in the title role; Andrei Konchalovsky s Duet for One ; A Prayer for the Dying ; Peter Yates Suspect ; The Good Mother ; and High Spirits, which marked his first collaboration with director Neil Jordan. Neeson s later film work includes Sam Raimi s Darkman ; Crossing the Line ; Under Suspicion ; Woody Allen s Husbands and Wives ; John Madden s Ethan Frome, playing the title role; Michael Apted s Nell, with Jodie Foster and Natasha Richardson; Rob Roy, as the title character; Barbet Schroeder s Before and After, opposite Meryl Streep; Les Miserables ; Kathryn Bigelow s K-19: The Widowmaker ; Martin Scorsese s Gangs of New York ; Richard Curtis ensemble hit Love Actually ; Ridley Scott s Kingdom of Heaven ; and Neil Jordan s Breakfast on Pluto. Throughout his career, Neeson has returned to the stage. He made his Broadway debut in the 1993 revival of Eugene O Neill s Anna Christie, for which he garnered a Tony Award nomination. In 1998, he played Oscar Wilde in David Hare s play The Judas Kiss, which opened in London s West End and subsequently moved to Broadway. He returned to Broadway in 2002 to play Proctor in Sir Richard Eyre s acclaimed production of Arthur Miller s The Crucible, opposite Laura Linney, earning a second Tony Award nomination and a Drama Desk Award nomination. Neeson more recently starred in the 2008 Lincoln Center Festival presentation of Samuel Beckett s Eh Joe, directed by Atom Egoyan and produced by Dublin s Gate Theatre. DIANE KRUGER (Gina) recently starred in Quentin Tarantino's critically acclaimed hit Inglourious Basterds, opposite Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz and Mike Myers. The film premiered at Cannes Film Festival in 2009, then opened to rave reviews and reached number one at the box office, grossing over $300 million world wide. For her performance, Kruger earned a Screen Actors Guild Award 13

14 nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, and won the SAG Award as part of the ensemble cast. Kruger also starred in producer Jerry Bruckheimer s smash hit action adventure National Treasure, which grossed nearly $350 million worldwide, as well as its even more successful sequel at over $450 million, National Treasure: Book of Secrets. In both films, Kruger starred alongside Nicolas Cage, under the direction of Jon Turteltaub. Born in Germany, Kruger was first launched to international fame as the infamous Helen in Wolfgang Petersen s Troy, opposite Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom. That same year, she starred with Josh Hartnett in Paul McGuigan s Wicker Park. She has since starred in both the U.S. and in Europe in such films as the Oscar -nominated French film Joyeux Noel ; Copying Beethoven, with Ed Harris; Goodbye Bafana, Bille August s ode to Nelson Mandela, also starring Joseph Fiennes; and Anything for Her (Pour elle), from director Fred Cavayé. Her most recent credits include a dual role in Mr. Nobody, with Jared Leto, Sarah Polley and Rhys Ifans, and Baltasar Kormákur s harrowing indie feature about organ trafficking, Inhale, also starring Sam Shepherd, Dermot Mulroney and Patricia Arquette. Kruger can next be seen as Marie Antoinette opposite Gérard Depardieu s Louis XVI in Benoît Jacquot s Farewell, My Queen, and with Djimon Hounsou in the French-filmed action adventure Special Forces, from director Stéphane Rybojad. JANUARY JONES (Elizabeth Harris) currently stars in AMC s award-winning hit series Mad Men, set in the male-dominated world of advertising in the fastchanging world of the 1960s. Jones has earned two Golden Globe Award nominations in the category of Best Actress in a Drama Series for her performance as Betty Draper, the wife of high-powered, philandering advertising executive Don Draper. Her work on the series has also brought her an Emmy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series, and she has shared with her Mad Men castmates in two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Drama Series Ensemble. 14

15 Upcoming on the big screen, she will star as Emma Frost in the action adventure X-Men: First Class, due out this summer. In addition, she stars with Nicolas Cage in the thriller The Hungry Rabbit Jumps, under the direction of Roger Donaldson. Jones recently starred with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Kenneth Branagh in the comedy Pirate Radio, written and directed by Richard Curtis. She had previously worked with Curtis as a member of the ensemble cast of his romantic comedy hit Love Actually. Her additional film credits include the true-life drama We Are Marshall, opposite Matthew Fox and Matthew McConaughey; the indie Swedish Auto ; Tommy Lee Jones The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, which debuted to critical acclaim at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival; the comedy American Wedding ; Peter Segal s Anger Management, alongside Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson; Full Frontal, directed by Steven Soderbergh; and Barry Levinson s Bandits, with Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton and Cate Blanchett. AIDAN QUINN (Martin B) began his acting career on stage in his hometown of Chicago, and went on to play the title role in director Robert Falls modern-day Hamlet. In New York, he starred on Broadway as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire, which garnered him a Theatre World Award, and off-broadway in Sam Shepherd s Fool for Love and Lie of the Mind, which won the Drama Desk Award. Quinn was also seen off-broadway in The Exonerated, which he performed at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival in Dublin and on London s West End as well, and with Al Pacino in Salome, directed by Estelle Parsons. He also starred at the Public Theater as Brutus, alongside David Straithairn and Brian Dennehy, in Richard Nelson s Conversations in Tusculum. Quinn s television credits include the groundbreaking AIDS drama An Early Frost, for which he earned an Emmy Award nomination; See You in My Dreams, opposite Marcia Gay Harden, based on the short stories of Sam Shepherd; and in the title role of Forbidden Territory: Stanley s Search for Livingston, opposite Nigel Hawthorne. He also starred in HBO s Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, for which he was again nominated for an Emmy; in the award-winning telepic Empire Falls ; and in the title role in the series The Book of Daniel. 15

16 In Ireland, Quinn executive produced and starred in the film This is My Father, written and directed by his brother Paul and filmed by his brother Declan, an award-winning cinematographer. He also starred with Pierce Brosnan in Bruce Beresford s Evelyn, and then starred in Song for a Raggy Boy, which premiered at Sundance and Tribeca film festivals in 2003 and for which he was nominated for the Irish Film and Television Award (IFTA) for Best Actor in a Film. He also appeared in his sister Marian Quinn s film 32A, in Vic Sarin s A Shine of Rainbows, and in Conor McPherson s The Eclipse, for which he won the IFTA for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Film. Quinn has starred in more than 45 feature films, among them Desperately Seeking Susan, Stakeout, The Playboys, Avalon, Benny and Joon, Legends of the Fall, Michael Collins, Looking for Richard, The Assignment, Music of the Heart, Songcatcher, Jonah Hex and Flipped. He was nominated for the 2005 Independent Spirit Award for Lisa Cholodenko s Cavedweller, and co-starred with Meryl Streep in the independent feature Dark Matter, which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. He can be seen in several recent independent features, including The 5 th Quarter, Festival of Lights, The Stand Up, The Greening of Whitney Brown, Rushlights, If I Were You, opposite Marcia Gay Harden, and The Exodus of Charlie Wright, with Andy Garcia. BRUNO GANZ (Ernst Jürgen) began his acting career in the theatre in the 1960s, and quickly moved into film. One of Germany s best-known actors, he has starred in both European and English-language productions and has won numerous awards, beginning with 1976 s German Gold Award for Outstanding Achievement for his role in The Marquis of O. For his performance as Adolf Hitler in Oliver Hirschbiegel s Academy Award - nominated German film Downfall, Ganz won numerous international awards, including the London Film Critics Award for Actor of the Year and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival Special Jury Award. In 2000, he had a lead role in Silvio Soldini s comedy Bread & Tulips, a major box office hit in Italy which won nine 16

17 David di Donatello Awards, including Best Actor for Ganz, adding to his acting awards for the film from the Swiss Film Prize and the Pula Film Festival. Ganz s other recent film credits include Francis Ford Coppola s pre-world War II romantic mystery Youth Without Youth ; The Dust of Time, directed by Theodoros Angelopoulus and co-starring Willem Dafoe; and Stephen Daldry s Academy Award -winning adaptation of the best-selling German novel The Reader. In addition to his work on the screen, Ganz currently serves as president of the German Film Academy. FRANK LANGELLA (Rodney Cole) ranks among the most respected actors of the stage and screen. He recently earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his portrayal of Richard Nixon in Ron Howard s true-life drama Frost/Nixon, for which he also garnered Golden Globe, BAFTA Award, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award nominations. Langella had previously won Tony and Drama Desk Awards and received an Olivier Award nomination when he originated the role of Nixon in the Peter Morgan play, first in London and then on Broadway. Langella more recently co-starred with Michael Douglas in Oliver Stone s hit drama Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. He also returned to Broadway to star as Sir Thomas More in the 2008 revival of A Man for All Seasons. Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, Langella earned a degree in Theatre from Syracuse University before beginning his career in regional theatre. He made his Broadway bow in the play Yerma, and then starred in William Gibson s A Cry of Players, for which he won a 1969 Drama Desk Award. He first gained the attention of movie audiences in 1970 when he starred in Diary of a Mad Housewife and Mel Brooks The Twelve Chairs. He won his first Tony Award, as well as another Drama Desk Award, for his performance in Edward Albee s Seascape. In 1978, Langella received both Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for his work in the title role of Dracula. He subsequently reprised the part in John Badham s 1979 film version of the play. Throughout his career, Langella has continued to juggle film and stage roles, earning praise for his work in both arenas. His many additional stage honors include Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Fortune s Fool ; Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for Match ; Drama Desk Awards for The Winner and The Father ; a 17

18 Drama Desk Award nomination for Present Laughter ; and Obie Awards for Good Day, The White Devil and The Old Glory: Benito Cereno. In 2003, Langella was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame. On the screen, Langella is remembered as the scheming White House Chief of Staff, Bob Alexander, in Ivan Reitman s hit comedy Dave. He more recently shared in a SAG Award nomination as a member of the ensemble cast of George Clooney s Good Night, and Good Luck, and received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his work in Starting Out in the Evening. His additional film credits include Ivan Reitman s Junior, Adrian Lyne s Lolita, Roman Polanski s The Ninth Gate, and Bryan Singer s Superman Returns, to name only a few. ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS JAUME COLLET-SERRA (Director) was born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain in In the early 1990s, he moved from Barcelona to Los Angeles to attend film school at Columbia College. Soon after graduating, he began his career as an editor. From there, Collet-Serra moved into directing music videos and then commercials for products such as PlayStation, Budweiser, MasterCard, Miller Lite, Pontiac, Smirnoff Ice, Renault, Verizon and 7-UP, working with such agencies as McCann-Erickson, J. Walter Thompson, BBDO, and TBWA\Chiat\Day. Collet-Serra s stylized, surreal and often dark imagery quickly caught the eye of producer Joel Silver, who hired him to direct House of Wax in Then in 2007, Collet-Serra s love for soccer took him back to Spain to shoot Goal II: Living the Dream. His most recent film was his third collaboration with Silver, the horror thriller Orphan. OLIVER BUTCHER & STEPHEN CORNWELL (Screenwriters) have their first joint screen credit for Unknown, but the writing team has a number of film projects in development in Hollywood, including producer Bill Gerber s actioner The Yakuza ; director John Singleton s The Wheelman for Vin Diesel; director Guy 18

19 Ritchie s The Gamekeeper ; and Legendary Picture s comic book adaptation Gravel. Their thriller Message from the King is set for production in Prior to writing with Cornwell, Butcher s screen credits included the comedy horror feature Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde, the mystery telepic Do You Know Me and the sci-fi TV short Take Out the Beast. He developed a number of mainstream studio comedies before turning full-time to thrillers. Cornwell's previous work as a screenwriter includes feature development projects with the Kennedy/Marshall Company and Ridley Scott, as well as directing the action films Philadelphia Experiment II and Killing Streets for the big screen, and the TV movie Marshal Law for Showtime and MGM-TV. He also directed the award-winning short film, State of Fear. DIDIER VAN CAUWELAERT (Author) was born in Nice, France, and is the author of several international bestsellers. His works have garnered him numerous awards, including the Prix Del Duca in 1982, for his book Vingt Ans et des poussières; the Roger Nimier Prize in 1984 for Poisson d amour; the Gutenberg Prize in 1987 for Les Vacances du fantôme; and the 1994 Goncourt Prix for Un aller simple (One Way Ticket). His additional works include La Vie interdite, La Demi-pensionnaire and L Éducation d une fée. Both Un aller simple and L Éducation d une fée have been made into films, and his novels Hors de moi and L Évangile de Jimmy are in the process of being adapted for the big screen. Van Cauwelaert has also written successfully for the theatre, receiving the Moliere award for best musical in 1997 for his adaptation of Passe-muraille, with Academy Award winner Michel Legrand. His plays have earned him the prestigious grand prize in theatre from L Académie française, and his books have been translated into more than 20 languages. JOEL SILVER (Producer), one of the most prolific and successful producers in the history of motion pictures, has produced more than 60 films, including the groundbreaking The Matrix trilogy, the blockbuster four-part Lethal Weapon 19

20 franchise, and the seminal action films Die Hard and Predator. To date, Silver s catalog of films have earned over $12 billion in worldwide revenue from all sources. Under his Silver Pictures banner, Silver recently produced the 2009 smash hit action adventure mystery Sherlock Holmes. Directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Robert Downey Jr. as the legendary detective and Jude Law as Watson, the film earned more than $500 million worldwide. Silver is currently producing the sequel to Sherlock Holmes, which reunites Ritchie, Downey Jr. and Jude Law and is slated for release in December Silver structured a deal for his Dark Castle Entertainment production company that gives him green-lighting power and creative control of all films produced under the banner, to be distributed by Warner Bros. Dark Castle has a number of films upcoming, including the supernatural mystery thriller The Apparition, starring Ashley Greene and Tom Felton. Dark Castle began with a string of hit films, starting with the record-breaking 1999 opening of House on Haunted Hill, followed by Thir13en Ghosts, Ghost Ship, Gothika and House of Wax. Among Dark Castle s more recent releases are the sci-fi thriller Splice, starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley; Guy Ritchie s critically acclaimed actioner RocknRolla, with an ensemble cast led by Gerard Butler, the horror thriller Orphan, starring Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard under the direction of Jaume Collet-Sera; and the actioners Ninja Assassin, directed by James McTeigue, and The Losers. Previously, Silver s 1999 production The Matrix grossed over $456 million globally, earning more than any other Warner Bros. Pictures film in the studio s history at the time of its release. Universally acclaimed for its innovative storytelling and visuals, The Matrix won four Academy Awards, including Best Visual Effects. The first DVD release to sell one million units, The Matrix DVD was instrumental in powering the initial sale of consumer DVD machines. The second installment of the epic Matrix trilogy, The Matrix Reloaded, earned over $740 million at the worldwide box office, making it the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. The opening weekend box office receipts for The Matrix Revolutions, the final chapter in the explosive trilogy, totaled a staggering $203 million worldwide. To date, The Matrix franchise has grossed $3 billion from all sources worldwide. 20